Carpet securing device



May 4, 1954 J. C. ADAMS 2,677,145

CARPET SECURING DEVICE Filed June 20, 1949 'lll /N VENTO/a.

Jesse C. ADAMS BY HIS ATTORNEYS.

Patented May 4, 1954 CARPET sEoURlNG DEVICE Jesse C. Adams, Inglewood,Calif., assignor to Roberts Manufacturing Co., Los Angeles, Calif., acorporation of California Application June 20, 1949, Serial No. 100,250

8 Claims. l

This invention relates to the art of laying carpets and moreparticularly to an improved means for securing a carpet in stretchedcondition on a floor or other supporting surface.

Carpets laid over suitable resilient padding to cover the floors inofice buildings, hotels, homes, etc., are commonly tacked down alongtheir margins, Such means for securing a carpet is not wholly desirablebecause the procedure in volved is relatively slow, because depressionsin the carpet caused by the tacks form dirt traps adjacent the wall ofa, room and, nally, because subsequent removal of the carpet requiresexcessive labor and invariably results in damage to the carpet. To avoidthe laborious procedure of tacking the carpet to a floor and to providea more even margin portion, free from depressions or bulges, variousdevices have been proposed for securing the edge portions of a carpet tothe floor adjacent the walls of a room, without the use of tacks orsimilar fastening means. One such carpet securing device which has beenhighly successful and is now widely used is that disclosed in Patent No.2,238,946, for Carpet Fastener, issued to Roy M. Roberts on April 22,1941, this patent being owned by the assignee of the presentapplication. The carpet fastening device, referred to immediately above,consists merely of a strip of wood adapted to be nailed to a flooradjacent a baseboard of a wall of the room and provided with inclinedpointed pins upon which the edge portion of a carpet stretched acrossthe room is adapted to be impaled to retain the carpet in stretchedcondition against the floor, the edge of the underlying resilientcushion abutting the inner edge of the strip.

When utilizing this and other prior art carpet fastening devices, it iscustomary to stretch the carpet to a point wherein its edge is disposedin close proximity to the baseboard of the room and, subsequent toattaching the carpet to the device, to apply a baseshoe or mouldingstrip to the baseboard to cover the marginal portion of the carpet toconceal the rough edge thereof.

It is, therefore, an important object of this invention to providemeans, preferably incorporated in a carpet securing strip, forconcealing the edge portion of a carpet stretched across the floor of aroom and for retaining the edge portion firmly against the floor. Thisobject is best attained by providing a carpet fastening strip in whichis embodied a normally horizontally extending flange over which themarginal portion of a carpet is folded with its extremity underlying theflange. A further object is to provide such a flange which is readilybendable so that after the marginal portion of the carpet is foldedtherearound, the flange can be bent downwardly to retain the edge infolded condition. By this means, the edge portion of the carpet is, ineffect, folded back upon itself with the rough edge concealed by anoverlying portion of the carpet and positively retained in such foldedcondition by the flange which is also concealed by the upper overlyingportion of the carpet.` Moreover, since the rough edge of the carpet ishidden from view, the necessity for providing moulding strips or othercovering means for the purpose of concealing the edges of the carpet isavoided and the procedure of laying the carpet is greatly expedited.

While many types of carpet fastening devices have been employed forsecuring the edges of a carpet adjacent the baseboards or walls of aroom little, if any, attention has been given to the problem of securingedges of carpets across doorways and other room openings, or fasteningthe edges to the floor adjacent the borders of fireplace hearths andother locations. As a result, it has heretofore been the common practiceto cut the carpet to cause its edge to t across the doorway or aroundthe hearth and to subsequently tack the cut edge to the floor and,unless the cut edge is provided With a suitable binding material, theexposed edges are unsightly and are subject to fraying. The presentcarpet securing strip has particular utility in fastening the edges of acarpet in such open areas, the device permitting an edge portion ofthecarpet to be folded back upon itself to conceal' the rough edge andeffectively retaining the edge firmly against the floor to preventaccidental displacement thereof.

Further objects of the invention will appear from the followingspecification and from the drawing, which is intended for the purpose ofillustration only, and in which:

Fig. l is a perspective view showing the present device applied to usein fastening an edge portion of a carpet to a floor; and

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view through the device, illustrating themanner in which the marginal portion of the carpet is stretchedthereover prior to bending the flange to conceal and anchor the roughedge of the carpet to the floor.

The present improved carpet securing device 5 is illustrated in Fig. 1as applied to use in fastening the edge portions 6 of a carpet 'l to afloor 8 to border a hearth, not shown. This is to be regarded merely asa typical example of one use of the instant device, however, since thedevice can be employed in other locations within a room as, for example,adjacent a baseboard or across a doorway.

The present device includes a sheet metal strip I@ which has ahorizontal base portion II, a vertical portion I2 projecting upwardlyfrom a longitudinal edge of the base portion, and a substantiallyhorizontal flange I3 projectinglaterally from the upper edge of thevertical portion.

The device also preferably includes a wooden strip I5 of a widthsubstantially equal to the width of the base portion I I and of a heightsubstantially equal to that of the vertical portion I2, the strip I5thus being adapted'to vbe placed Aon the base portion II with its uppersurface substantially flush with the upper end rof the vvertical portionI2 as shown in the drawing. The wooden strip I5 is provided with aplurality of upwardly projecting, inclined pins I6 having pointed ends.

The carpet fastening device is appliedv to usein securing the edgeportion 6 ofthe carpet 1 against the floor S by first securing the metalstrip I to the floor with the free edge of the flange I3 disposed abovethe line -to which the edge of the carpet is to extend. The woodenanchoring strip I is next placed upon the base portion I I of the metalstrip I0, after which nails I are driven through the strip `I5 and thebase portion II into the wooden oor 8 as shown in the drawing, and withthe anchoring pins I6 inclined toward the flange I3. The carpetfastening device 5 is then ready for use and the carpet, which hasalready been laid or is next applied to the floor, is secured to thefloor inthe manner to be next explained.

To apply the carpet 'I to the floor 8, a resilient cushion or pad 20 isfirst laid upon the floor and cut to a size enabling it to t between thecarpet securing strip devices applied to the floor adjacent thebaseboard of the room, the edges of the pad abutting the inner edges ofthe devices as shown in the drawing. The carpet l is next laid upon thecushion 2U and its vedge portions anchored to the 4floor by the devices5. Assuming that the edge of the carpet 'I opposite to that indicated att is already secured to a fastening device 5 at the other side of theroom, the marginal portion 6 is lfirst drawn taut across the strip I5 bymeans of a suitable stretching device (not shown) and impaledon theprojecting pins I6 which then serve to effectively maintain the carpetin its stretched condition.

The free edge portionv E ofthe carpet I is 'next folded over and backunder the horizontal flange I3, after which the flange is bentdownwardly from the position shown in Fig. 2 to that illustrated inFig. 1. The extreme edge 2I of the carpet l, which may be rough andunbound, is thus disposed beneath the flange I3 and, since the latter isconcealed by the upper portion of the carpet, a smooth, unbroken border"is provided and the carpet appears to merge with the floor or thehearth, as the case may be. In this way an especially pleasingappearance is effected and, since the use of tacks is avoided, nodepressions are produced and, moreover, the carpet can be readilyremoved'from the floor by merely prying the flange I3 upwardly by meansof a suitable tool to free the extreme end portion of the carpet, and

thereafter unhooking the carpet from the anchor# ing pins. v

The same procedure as that outlined Vabove is carried out when an yedgeof a carpet i's to 'be anchored adjacent the baseboard or lower wallportion of'a room, theedge portion of the-carpet 4 being folded over atthe wall. By this means, a smooth joint is made with the wall of theroom without the use of tacks and the appearance of the carpet is notmarred by depressions in which dirt might collect.

It has been explained that the carpet fastening device 5 is secured tothe floor 8 by the nails Il. When Ythe carpet I is to be laid upon aconcrete or other non-wooden floor, the device 5 may be cemented orotherwise bonded thereto.

While the improved carpet securing device has been herein shown anddescribed as embodied in.

a preferred form of construction, by way of example, it will be obviousto one skilled in the art that other modifications might be made thereinwithout departing from the spirit of the invention. Consequently, I donot wish to be limited in this respect but desire to be afforded thefull scope of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A carpet fastening device, comprising: a sheet metal strip having ahorizontal portion adapted to rest upon a surface to which a carpet isto be applied, an upwardly extending portion' and a substantiallyhorizontal, readily bendable flange projecting laterally from saidupwardly extending portion and across and under which the edge portionof a carpet stretched across said strip is adapted to be folded, saidflange being bendable downwardly toward said surface to conceal andretain said edge portion in folded condition against said surface; acarpet retaining strip mounted on said horizontal portion and havingretaining means engageable with said carpet for retaining the same instretched condition; and fastening means for fastening said stripsagainst said surface.

y -2. A carpet fastening device, comprising: a sheet metal strip havinga horizontal portion adapted to rest upon a surface to which a carpet isto be applied, and upwardly extending portion and a substantiallyhorizontal, readily bendable flange projecting laterally from saidupwardly extending portion and across and under which the edge portionof a carpet stretched across said strip is adapted to be folded, saidflange being bendable downwardly toward said surface to conceal andretain said edge portion in folded condition against said surface; anon-metallic carpet retaining strip secured to said horizontal portionand having retaining means engageable with said carpet for retaining thesame in stretched condition; and fastening means for fastening saidstrips against said surface.

3. A carpet fastening device, comprising: 'a sheet lmetal strip having ahorizontal portion adapted to rest upon a surface to which a carpet isto be applied, an upwardly extending portion and a substantiallyhorizontal, readily bendable ange projecting laterally from saidupwardly extending portion and across and under which the edge portionof a carpet stretched across said strip is adapted to be folded, saidflange being bendable downwardly toward said surface to conceal andretain said edge portion in folded condition against said surface; anon-metallic carpet retaining'strip secured to said horizontal portionand having pointed pins engagea'ble with said carpet for retaining thesame in stretched condition; and fastening means for fastening saidstrips against said surface.

4. A carpet fastening device, comprising: 'a sheet metal strip having ahorizontal portion adapted to rest upon a surface to which a carpet isto be applied, an upwardly extending portion and a substantiallyhorizontal, readily bendable flange projecting laterally from saidupwardly extending portion and across and under which the edge portionof a carpet stretched across said strip is adapted to be folded, saidflange being bendable downwardly toward said surface to conceal andretain said edge portion in folded condition against said surface; awooden carpet retaining strip mounted on said horizontal portion andhaving pointed pins engageable with said carpet for retaining the samein stretched condition; and fastening means for fastening said stripsagainst said surface.

5. A carpet fastening device adapted to secure a carpet edge to asupporting surface, including: a strip adapted to be secured to thesupporting surface and across which the carpet is adapted to bestretched; and fastening means on said strip, said fastening meanscomprising a flange extending vertically from said strip adjacent anouter edge thereof and a readily bendable securing strip formedintegrally with said flange, said securing strip having a Width greaterthan the height of said flange, said carpet being adapted to bestretched across and reversibly folded under said securing strip whensaid securing strip is directed angularly downward and outward tocompress said carpet against said supporting surface.

6. A carpet fastening device adapted to secure an edge of a carpet ofpredetermined thickness to a supporting surface, including: a striphaving a horizontal portion adapted to be secured to the supportingsurface and across which the carpet is adapted to be stretched, saidstrip including a vertically extending portion and a bendable flangeformed integrally with said rvertically extending portion, said flangehaving an edge across and under which the edge portion of the carpet isadapted to be reversibly folded, said flange being Idirected toward saidsurface, the width of said flange together with the thickness of saidcarpet exceeding the height of the vertically extending portion of saidstrip, whereby said flange is angularly disposed relative to saidvertically extending portion when said carpet is reversibly foldedacross and under said ange to secure the same to said supportingsurface.

7. A device for fastening a carpet to a supporting surface. said devicebeing adapted to assume a rst position in which an edge of the carpet isnot secured to the supporting surface and a second position in which thesaid carpet edge is firmly secured to said supporting surface,including: a strip adapted to be secured to the supporting surface indirect contact therewith, said strip extending in a direction generallyparallel with the edge of the carpet and having an` outer edgeunderlying the carpet, said strip having a portion formed integrallytherewith extending vertically from said outer edge thereof; and aflange formed integrally with the vertically extending portion of thestrip, said flange extending generally horizontally beneath the carpetwhen the device is in said first position and extending angularlydownward to compress the carpet between the flange and the supportingsurface when the device is in said second position, said flange beingbendable relative to said vertically extending portion of said strip tosecure or release said carpet edge.

8. A concealed carpet-anchoring device comprising a one piece element ofdeformable material, said element having an elongated base portionadapted to be secured to a floor, an intermediate portion extendingupwardly from one end of said base portion at approximately right anglesthereto, and an elongated clamping portion extending forwardly from thetop of said intermediate portion in a direction opposite to that of saidbase portion but being substantially parallel therewith, forwardlyextending carpet engaging projections Iconnected to said base portion,said clamping portion being deformable downwardly after the carpet isengaged by said projections and the marginal edge of the carpet isfolded over the free end of said clamping portion and tucked thereunder.

References Cited in the ille of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 182,354 Campbell Sept. 19, 1876 1,770,215 McIntyre July 8,1930 2,051,191 Watson Aug. 18, 1936 2,238,946 Roberts Apr. 22, 19412,258,314 Bonnell Oct. 7. 1941 2,260,908 Johnson Oct. 28, 1941 FOREIGNPATENTS Number Country Date 110,463 Great Britain Apr. 26. 1940

